When it comes to winter energy bills it pays to be prepared.

It's October and there will soon be a chill in the air. While you may not have adjusted the thermostat yet, it might be worth getting prepared because if you don't act soon you might be in for a nasty surprise when your next energy bills arrives. We examine one of the first energy product launches looking forward to the colder months; expect a flurry soon.

Fix your energy problems

Ovo has launched a fixed-rate New Energy plan, topping the dual-fuel best-buy tables. At a time when many providers are pushing up prices, Ovo claims to save the average household £359 a year. Moneysupermarket.com says the Ovo New Energy deal would cost £933 a year by direct debit for gas and electricity, compared with the average quarterly cash and cheque standard tariff of £1,171.

Ovo also guarantees that 15pc of energy used by households on the plan will be from renewable sources – three times more than the standard UK plan. The deal is available online only at www.ovoenergy.com Call 0800 599 9440 for more information.

Verdict We use 40pc of our annual energy consumption in the months of December to February – so not being on the right plan before then can be costly. Many households previously on cheap deals may find they are now paying top rates.

Bond fever

Locking your money away seems the only way to get decent interest at the moment and the banks and building societies are vying for top position. Stroud & Swindon Building Society has a two-year fixed-rate bond paying 3.7pc, beating the previous best buy from Santander by 0.2 percentage points. The bond can be opened with a minimum deposit of £1 and further deposits are permitted. Savers can opt to have interest annually or monthly. Withdrawals are not allowed until the bond matures. Applications must be made by post. Download a form at www.StroudandSwindon.co.uk

Verdict The Stroud & Swindon fixed-rate bond will be withdrawn from the market once fully subscribed, so act quickly.

A paragon of virtue

Buy-to-let lender Paragon Mortgages has returned to lending after an 18-month hiatus. The landlords' mortgage provider withdrew its products during the credit crunch, but is back with two fixed-rate products and four tracker mortgages. There is a two-year, fixed-rate mortgage charging 5.3pc for those with a deposit of more than 35pc and a 5.5pc two-year, fixed-rate for those with a 25pc deposit. The larger the deposit, the smaller the fee, starting from 2pc. The trackers are two and five-year products for those with a 25pc or 35pc deposit. Go to www.paragon-mortgages.co.uk or call 0845 849 4040.

Verdict Buy-to-let landlords will be overjoyed at Paragon's return. The current best buy for buy-to-let two-year, fixed-rate mortgages is from the Mortgage Works and charges a much lower rate at 4.69pc – 0.81 percentage points less than Paragon, but requires a minimum 30pc deposit.

It pays to be privileged

The Co-operative is allowing fee-free access to Privilege and Privilege Premier accounts for a year. Privilege account holders are entitled to free worldwide travel insurance, mobile phone cover and a £200 interest-free overdraft e_SEnD usually for £9.50 a month.

Privilege Premier customers have Privilege benefits as well as breakdown cover for the UK and Europe and an interest-free overdraft of £300. To qualify for the free service you need to pay a minimum £800 a month into an account. The fee-free, 12-month offer is open to new customers, existing Co-op current account holders and existing Privilege and Privilege Premier customers. It runs until November 20.

For information, or to switch or upgrade, go to www.co-operativebank.co.uk/FeeFree To apply for a Privilege account by phone call 0800 707 6188. For a Privilege Premier account call 0800 022 3510. This deal is not available in branch.

Verdict This is the first time a bank has offered a premium service free and it is an attractive way to lure new customers with the hope that they decide to pay after the year is up, or are too disorganised to switch bank accounts again in a year. If you are not going to use the benefits, consider whether it is worth having to change direct debits and standing orders, only to change them again in a year.